How Are Musculoskeletal Injuries Diagnosed?

Musculoskeletal disorders can affect joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, nerves or bursa. These conditions can include fibromyalgia, arthritis, tendonitis, sprains, strains, infections, injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, lupus, fractures, dislocations and many other disorders. Diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders usually involves thorough physical evaluation and diagnostic testing procedures. These can include blood tests, MRI's, CT scans and x-rays. Diagnostic testing depends on the symptoms of the condition.

Pain is often the primary symptom associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Depending on the type of pain the patient is experiencing can help determine the cause. Pain that is more severe during movement can be a good indicator that there is a musculoskeletal problem or if swelling is present with tenderness when the physician palpates the area can also indicate the source of the problem. Although physical examination can help to determine the cause of the discomfort, diagnosing these types of disorders usually takes additional diagnostic measures. For proper diagnosis, physicians must rely on not only physical examinations, but also the patient's history, symptoms and test results.

If the physician suspects that a bone disorder is the cause of symptoms, they will order x-rays. This is common in suspected cases of fractures, bone tumors and infections. X-rays are also used to help confirm cases of certain types of arthritis such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. X-rays are not used for diagnosing conditions that are related to muscles, tendons or ligaments, as they are ineffective at producing image results.

Computerized tomography (CT scan) can offer additional details on bone problems such as fractures or soft tissue problems. These diagnostic devices take several different images at different angles to provide the physician with cross-sectioned images. This can give the physician more detailed information of the musculoskeletal problem.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is often used for diagnosing disorders related to tendons, ligaments, bursa or muscles. These diagnostic devices enable the physician to see detailed images of abnormalities. They are also effective for diagnosing disorders associated with joints and bones as they can detect hidden abnormalities in bones that x-rays or CT scans may not reveal.

When the physician suspects that symptoms are related to lupus, arthritis or other systemic causes, they often use blood and urine testing for help in diagnosing these conditions. Blood tests are also sometimes ordered when the patient is experiencing unusually severe symptoms or when symptoms persist. Blood and urine tests can reveal substances, which can indicate certain musculoskeletal disorders.

When the physician suspects that the patient may have a nerve or muscle disease, they will often perform a Truax biography, which will show changes in the conduction patterns of nerves that occurs when a disease affects the muscles or nerves. Physicians can use the Truax biography to distinguish whether the disorder is affecting muscle fibers, is a disorder due to defects in nerve conduction or is due to defects where muscles and nerves connect.